Please advise President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya to play low on Opposition leader Raila Odinga yaa.

Because if you and your fellow presidents do not advise Kenyatta to cool his temper, anger may just lead him to brutalize Odinga for inaugurating himself President yesterday.

Let me refresh your memory of what happened yesterday in the Kenyan capital. Kenya’s main opposition leader, Raila Odinga, declared himself the “people’s president” at a controversial “swearing-in” ceremony in the capital.

Is he okay at all?

Wait! What is wrong with this old man?

Why wait for two whole months after Uhuru Kenyatta has taken the oath of office before doing this treasonable act?

Well, Mr. President, here is the rest of it.

Thousands of his supporters attended the event despite a government warning that it amounted to treason.

The authorities (Kenyatta) shut down TV stations to prevent live coverage of the event.

President Uhuru Kenyatta was sworn in for a second term last November. He won an election re-run in October, but Odinga boycotted it.

Elections were first held in August but the courts ordered a re-run, saying Mr. Kenyatta’s victory was marred by irregularities.

Holding a Bible in his right hand at a park in Nairobi, Mr. Odinga declared that he was answering to a “high[er] calling to assume the office of the people’s president of the Republic of Kenya.”

Which higher calling is he referring to?

His inner voice or the voice of treason?

People had had enough of election rigging and the event was a step towards establishing a proper democracy in the East African state, Mr. Odinga told a cheering crowd.

Speaking earlier to Kenyan broadcaster KTN, Mr Odinga said his “swearing-in” was intended to “show the world that what we are doing is legal, constitutional and not something you can remotely describe as a coup.”

What did he achieve?

It was a public relations stunt that ended in disappointment for many opposition supporters.

Mr. Odinga turned up for just 20 minutes. He signed a statement, swore an oath and left the stage, leaving his supporters wondering why it was such a low-key affair.

Mr. President, just imagine the fact that his deputy, Kalonzo Musyoka, was not at the event, and Mr. Odinga said Mr. Musyoka would be “sworn-in” at a later date. How? Do you think President Kenyatta will condone such acts for long?

You need to call other African Heads of State to talk to President Kenyatta to cool his temper and not explode with anger. Because this can easily infuriate anyone, let alone the president of a sovereign nation.

Just imagine how you, Mr. President, would have felt, had Amb. Joseph Nyumah Boakai inaugurated himself president while you are still at the helm of power in Liberia.

Disrespected, right? Am sure that’s exactly how Uhuru feels right now. But with your careful intervention, we can prevent the loss of innocent lives. Call the Political and Wise elders of Africa to intervene quickly, I beg you.

Because three privately owned television stations – NTV, KTN and Citizen TV – went off air from around 09:10 (06:10 GMT). That was enough to signal a distaste from the Presidency.

Citizen said the authorities had forced them off the air over plans to cover the gathering.

It live streamed the event on its website, and on YouTube and Facebook.

KTN viewers watched their screens fade to black as the news presenter read a statement confirming that the national communications authority was switching off transmission.

Switching off the broadcasting signals of media organisations is unusual in Kenya, the BBC’s Anne Soy reports from Nairobi.

Threats have been made in the past and some media groups have been raided but none have had their signal deliberately disrupted.

Kenyan journalists have denounced the move as outrageous and in a statement called for “respect of the constitution” and an end to the “unprecedented intimidation of journalists.”

There was tension in Kenya on Tuesday as some schools closed in the capital because of the event, and people did not know what to expect, our correspondent says.

Why is the election result disputed?

Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta was officially re-elected with 98% of the vote on 26 October but just under 39% of voters turned out. He was inaugurated in November.

His victory is not recognised by Mr Odinga, who argues he was elected by a small section of the country.

Mr. Kenyatta also won the original election on 8 August but that result was annulled by the Supreme Court, which described it as “neither transparent nor verifiable.”

When the repeat vote was called, Mr. Odinga urged his supporters to shun it because he said no reforms had been made to the electoral commission.

Correspondents say the election dispute has left Kenya deeply divided. About 50 people are reported to have been killed in violence since the August ballot.

‘Undermining authority’

Analysis:

Mr. Kenyatta will see Mr. Odinga’s action as undermining his authority, but it is unclear whether the government will risk plunging Kenya, East Africa’s biggest economy, into a deeper crisis by arresting the opposition leader.

Odinga, on the other hand, will relish his self-declared honorific, “people’s president.” Other than that, it is unclear what he has gained from the “swearing-in.”

In fact, he seems to have been abandoned by other opposition leaders, who skipped his “inauguration.”

As for President Kenyatta, his legacy will be stained as a result of the media shutdown. Oh well, He is the sitting President and has every constitutional rights to maintain civility.

Joseph Nyumah Boakai would not even think of such a thing. He is way too intelligent. So, please, in the name of peace, President Weah, try to intervene speedily.

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Major Dahnsaw is a multiple award winning Liberian Movie Actor whose writings reflects societal imbalances known to many but uttered by few.

His indepth writings have earned him a space on the B.B.C.’s Global Minds forum as its only Liberian member.

Major Lines To The President Is Penned By Him And Reflects His Thoughts On Issues of National And International Concerns.

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